On
Wednesday, September 15th, Manuel Areallano was
taking five gallons of water to the Pacific Crest
Trail (PCT) via the Spitler Peak Trail. This was
in support of about 30 Marines from Twenty-nine
Palms who were hiking the PCT from Fuller Ridge
to the Desert Divide. At about 4:30 PM, he
decided that Spitler Peak Trail was not the
quickest route and that it would be better to go
straight up the mountain. He never made it to the
PCT.

His fellow Marines realized
that he was overdue and searched for him until
Thursday afternoon when they decided they needed
to call for assistance. RMRU was contacted and
were in the field by about 8:00 PM. Later that
night, additional personnel were requested from
the Desert Search and Rescue from Palm Springs.
In the morning, helicopter support was provided
by the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona
and the Riverside Sheriff's Department.

Teams
were sent in from several directions to cover the
perimeter while other teams searched from the
point last seen (PLS). Teams searched all through
the night and well into the morning. None of the
perimeter teams ever made contact with Manuel but
one team, near the PLS, found his tracks on the
hillside. As that team was following
the tracks, we were notified that Manuel had
found his way out.

After
interviewing Manuel, it was learned that on
Wednesday he hiked up and around the south side
of Spitler Peak. On Thursday he spent the entire
day crawling through dense brush. During that
difficult day he dropped his water container and
most the water spilled out. By the end of the day
he was out of water. He decided to leave his
backpack behind since it was slowing him down. He
slept Thursday in the cold without his sleeping
bag. Friday morning he hiked downhill to where he
could see the buildings at Forbes Ranch. A man in
one house gave him food and water before driving
him back to the trailhead where he was reunited
with his friends.